RV Magazine Digital Ecosystem
Trailer Life and MotorHome publications have merged into one as RV Magazine and needed help to launch and cultivate the new brand’s digital experience.
With a separately managed printed publication and an increase of users seeking digital content, the decision to develop a responsive website as the primary digital channel was pre-defined. Users would be able to have access to the latest RV content from any screen.
My Role: Lead UX Research & Design
Tools: Usertesting.com, Optimal Workshop, Sketch, Invision, Jira
Timeline: 2 Months
Background
Founded in 1941 by parent company Good Sam Media & Events, Trailer Life magazine prints 12 issues per year which collects and distributes news, tests and reports about all things RV. In 1968 Motorhome Magazine was established to focus primarily on motorized RVs while Trailer Life Magazine was able to cut back content and focus primarily on trailers.
Trailer Life has an average circulation of more than 260,000 subscribers each month and currently has an average of 548,000 pageviews from 203,000 unique visitors each month. The typical reader of Trailer Life is a male homeowner with a household income of $89,826.
MotorHome magazine has an average circulation of more than 165,000 subscribers each month and an average of 280,000 pageviews from 112,000 unique users each month. The typical reader of MotorHome is a retired male homeowner with a household income of $105,957.
The Problem
Trailer Life and MotorHome Magazines had been seeing a decline in subscribers and site visits for both publications over the years. Previous efforts were focused on primarily print and a small group of the population, mostly male baby boomers which was decreasing in numbers.
The Initiative
Recognizing the shift in how people access information today and the importance of inclusivity, there was a large initiative to increase their numbers and customer loyalty by merging the two publications into RV Magazine, refocusing their content to appeal to younger and more diverse demographics, increase their digital efforts with social media engagement and creating a new website.
As a part of the RV Magazine digital effort, I was tasked to research and design the digital experience to better algin with user needs.
The Solution
A responsive website that features intuitive navigation, bookmarking, content personalization, complete subscription control, and social engagement.
Discover
Research Plan
Gather insights on the current Trailer Life & MotorHome website experiences from users and stakeholders, compare pre and post Covid-19 trends, identify and analyze audience, market, and understand user needs in order to determine the site’s main features.
Research GoalsUnderstand our current magazines and websites. Discover what’s working and the pain points of our current UX.
Gain understanding of behaviors and needs of our current subscribers, and younger, diverse demographics that we can tap into pertaining to subscription & publication websites.
Discover competitor offerings.
Determine where we can fit in the competitive space and prioritize features.
Research MethodsStakeholder Interviews
Usertesting Assessment of Current Sites
User Interviews
Market Research
Competitive Analysis
Card Sorting & Tree Testing
Usability testing
Usertesting Assessment of Current Sites
An unmoderated test was launched on Usertesting.com to identify what’s working and what’s not working for the current Trailer Life and MotorHome websites. As time being a constraint, we decided to focus on Trailer Life’s website since it had higher traffic and the two sites were very similar. 5 testers participated that were between the ages of 30-50, 2 male, 3 female and an income between $60k-$150k. It was important in observing and understanding the current pain points to avoid repeating them in the new designs and help back design decisions.
Measurements of successTask success
Customer satisfaction
Screenshot of Trailer Life Homepage 2020
FindingsObserved users struggling to navigate website
Links appeared as external ads
Homepage is “cluttered”
Navigation header is different on some pages which confused users
“Not mobile friendly”
Top menu looks “spammy”
Horizontal Sliders aren’t clear
Graphics and Imagery need Improvement
Observed users struggling with search function
"I don't feel comfortable subscribing. My impression is that it doesn't seem very professional. Just basing it off all the links at the top. Looks like it was done for not a lot of money, maybe students or people who are new to web design."
-Usertesting Feedback
"I don't need 50 different things to be trending”
-Usertesting Feedback
"doesn't feel as mobile friendly as other websites that I've navigated on my smart phone."
-Usertesting Feedback
User Interviews
We interviewed five RV & subscription enthusiasts that aligned with current and target demographics to gain insights on their needs, motivations and frustrations to help shape the digital experience.
GoalsFind out how outdoor enthusiasts consume and gather information about their RVs, trips, activities and products.
Find out what type of information outdoor enthusiasts find most valuable.
How do print and digital users feel about digital subscriptions and what are their concerns for subscribing?
Find out user's work arounds to problems that exist on digital subscription sites.
The Interviews took place during the Covid-19 Pandemic. Usertesting moderated tests, zoom and phone calls were used to connect with users.
Topics of DiscussionOutdoor / Rving Experience
Current Outdoor / RV Resources
Digital Magazine Subscriptions
Payment
Community
Thematic Analysis:Core User NeedsAfter a thematic analysis, 4 core user needs were identified and used later to help determine what features should be prioritized and help shape our personas.
I want to feel in control
When it comes to money, their accounts, subscriptions, notifications, collecting content, and navigating, the user wants to feel in control.
It needs to be worth the money
Users are likely to subscribe if they see value early on. Unique content, intuitive interface, multiple subscriber benefits, personalization, frequency of use and no digital interruptions define value to them. Most interviewers need to “test drive” before they decide if it’s valuable.
I want to know I can trust the information
Users look to family, friends, and RV / camping communities for many resources. It’s important to them to have a trusted and honest source that is credible & reputable.
I like to save & share
All users saved content in their own ways to revisit & share later.
Competitive Analysis
Insights from our user interviews helped us understand how RV & outdoor enthusiasts accessed information and differentiated behavior & sources based on searching vs. browsing. This influenced the feature list as well as indirect competitors we analyzed.
Define
Personas
After synthesizing our findings from our previous research, initial personas were created to define user goals, experiences, behaviors and needs to create an effective and meaningful experience. These will become useful as we ideate and prioritize features as well as create user flows.
To shape the 3 personas below we relied on insights from our user interviews, pre-Covid and current Covid analytic data and North American camping reports.
Ideate
User Flows
User flows were created to define paths and screens users would be taken to complete a task and achieve a goal. This was important to begin creating and simplifying the experience and outline what screens needed to be considered and created in wireframing & design stages. It was also useful to align with stakeholders and development.
*please note: 2.1 content types were defined after card sorting and tree testing.
Card Sorting
We conducted an open card sort and tree test to evaluate the information architecture of the site. We asked eight participants to organize topics into categories that made sense to them and label the groupings to begin establishing our site map.
Card Sort Data SourceContent categories provided by the editorial team (print magazine)
Using Optimal Workshop Card Sorting tool (open - testers make their own categories)
Sample8 people - men and women (mix of RV owners and non-RV owners)*
*Please Note: We were limited on the amount of people we could use in the card sort based on our account type with Optimal Workshop. After these tests, the business saw the value of increasing the quantity and upgraded our account for future projects.
Card Sort FindingsAverage # of categories were 6.3
Tester Quote: “I would rather have fewer categories with more topics than a bazillion groups.”
There may have been some confusion on some section titles, clear patterns were not identified in some areas within the similarity matrix. This could be because the sample size wasn’t large enough, people thought about the labels differently or didn’t understand them.
56% agreement on categories; RV, gear, travel, lifestyle, shop, archive, account, join us, about us.
Tree Test
Following the card sort, we created a site map that met the needs of the user (56% agreement) as well as the business and provided tasks to ten additional users to evaluate the findability of the first site map and made revisions based on the insights. Overall the tree test was successful with a few minor tweaks and validating the main content categories.
*Please Note: We were limited to 3 tasks and 10 participants within Optimal Workshop due to account limitations. Additional tasks were added in Usertesting which was used to record the sessions.
Wireframe
As a first step, very basic wires were drafted to establish section hierarchy, basic communication cues, art-boards, and art-board naming conventions based on the user flows associated. Once all pages were laid out, detailed wires were designed which focused on functional elements and a more comprehensive layout. This was also the stage I began creating text styles and symbols for easy updates when in the design stage.
Design
Establishing primitive styles and creating a style tile to be sent for approval before diving into design was key to setting expectations and saving time in the design stage. Colors and style were created to fit the style guide created by the magazine’s graphic design team.
Interviewees talked about different ways they saved and shared content related to their RVs and camping. By adding this feature for subscribers, we created a valuable tool for users to save and categorize content most important to them that would encourage them to revisit and refer to later.
I keep a list of things I need to fix on my RV.
I keep a list of things I want to buy for my RV.
The only time I have to read is when the kids are asleep, I’d like to queue up content if I don’t have time in the moment.
I make a travel guide for my trips and save various content for when I’m there.
Sometimes If there’s a good article I’ll save the magazine.
This also creates an opportunity to collect data and understand the content people are likely to bookmark and find valuable, continuing to improve on the content output by the magazine.
Bookmarking
RVing and the outdoors has a wide range of interests, locations, and RV knowledge. With the increase of people venturing outdoors during the COVID19 pandemic and RV magazine broadening their topics and market, it only made sense to make personalized content a key aspect for subscribers to tailor an experience specific to them. We give the user control to select what content is at the forefront; whether they prefer reading up on trailer or motorized RVs, down to the specific type and activities they enjoy.
I only like to read about motorized RVs
I’m not handy, I like content about lifestyle and space saving tricks
I am handy, I like content that’s techy
I find value in subscription sites that create an experience for me and my interests
Personalized Content
Interviewees expressed uneasiness around subscribing to something and not feeling in control. To reassure potential subscribers, it was important to be clear in our copy leading to subscription. Once subscribed, users have the ability and control to cancel anytime, stop auto-renewal, and update account settings and information within their account.
Subscription Control
Test
We set up a high-fidelity clickable prototype using invision and launched a unmoderated test on Usertesting.com in order to evaluate designs, pull insights and make updates to improve the experience.
Key InsightsOverall positive feedback on the look and feel of the site.
Participants struggled to locate the ‘Find My Towing Capacity’ Page
Designs were updated to ensure users can easily locate the link in the main navigation.
Participants were overwhelmed on sub pages.
Sub page layouts & content preview cards were updated on desktop to simplify & improve ability to scan.
Participants were unsure what content was a video.
Ensure video icons within cards are visibly distinguishable.
What We TestedNavigation Design
Search
Visual Design
Content
Measurements of successTask success rate
Customer Satisfaction
Deliver
Atomic Consistency
Alongside the finished interface designs, I produced a design system within Invision DSM documenting all elements to keep the designs as consistent and re-usable as possible. This was important for development use, democratizing components for the design team as well as establishing ADA compliant elements early in the design process.
Learnings
Be resourceful
There were times I requested information from the business and never received or I would be limited in tools and resources. It was important that I take the initiative and rely on the information and tools I did have access to. While it wasn’t the most ideal, any data to back design decisions is worth digging for.
Think into the future
Feedback can come at ay stage of the process. Set up component symbols, exports and naming conventions early and be ready for changes. Establishing primitive styles and creating a style tile to be sent for approval before diving into design was key to setting expectations and saving time in the design stage.
Set a baseline
In retrospect, I would have set up my usability tests for the current site and new designs exactly 1:1 to establish a clear baseline and share how the new designs have improved the experience for users. I would have also spent a lot more time in testing but given the time constraints was very limited.